Suze Orman is definitely one of the first people that come to mind for many people when they think of personal financial advice. Many people have seen Suze on television or heard her on the radio dispensing her unique brand of unfiltered, get-real financial advice to people in all kinds of predicaments. Personally, I am terrified of the woman. If Suze Orman were to get within a hundred miles of my finances, she would cringe. I am fairly certain that if she were ever to advise me on my finances, I would be in tears within minutes because she would have more than a few choice words about where I’m at with money and how I got here.
All that aside, I know that there is a great deal of truth to the advice that Suze Orman gives. That is why she is so popular. Her advice works, plain and simple. It may not always come in words that the advisees would like to hear, but if they follow the advice their financial situations improve drastically. Suze Orman’s money tips for 2011 are some great ways that we can begin to get our finances moving in a good direction.
The first tip relates to investing, which is something that we should all be doing. There are so many ways we could invest the money that we work so hard to scratch together for that purpose, and Suze Orman wants to make sure that we choose an investment that is secure and will pay off. She says that at least for now, investing in bonds is not a good idea. The best things to invest in at the current time are dividend-paying stocks.
Also, Suze says that there is a way to combine two other things that we all should have: retirement savings and emergency savings. The way to do this is by getting a Roth IRA. With a Roth IRA, money grows tax-free, and you can withdraw your initial contribution at any time (read: in an emergency only) without penalty.
A third great suggestion from Suze Orman is to think about getting a credit card from a credit union. They tend to have lower fees, which is a relief when the major cardholders’ fees seem to be getting more and more exorbitant. They also often let you transfer balances from other cards for free. These three suggestions from Suze Orman are a good place to start when thinking about reassessing your financial strategy for 2011.